Top 5 Best Photography Books That You Should Buy

Being able to use your camera and capture a photo is something that anyone is capable of. You can just push the button and flick a couple of shots and then you have your photo ready. But just as the obvious reality about life, not anyone is fit to become a photographer.

Well, it is mostly true that most photographer are endowed with a keen eye to reflect his mastery of the craft and at the same time his creativity. They step out of the world and then focus on the subject to generate ideas and concepts that will truly add life, spice and beauty on the picture. Though others might thought it as natural talent, not all photographers really become what they are now just by knowing that they had a talent for it.

Most of them have undergone different kinds of studies and practices. They persevere the different difficulties, embrace them and promise themselves that they will always do better time. Although their hard work and determination might do them good, coupling it with a solid a foundation about photography will even triple the results of their hard work and determination.

Now, experience will indeed give you a strong foundation. But wouldn’t it be much easier if we try to read books? Yes, books contain a lot of techniques and secrets that would really help you in your endeavor for being a photographer, or improve your knowledge and skills if you’ve already started.

To help you sort out the flooding number of books about photography, we have gathered a few of those photography books that will help you big time.

1. The Luminous Portrait by Elizabeth Messina

If you’re really into photography, then this name is no stranger at all. As an award-winning photographer, her book will indeed give you more insights and realizations about different techniques in photography. She writes in detail her images citing important cues like locations, lighting, and camera settings. In the book, she discussed about finding your own vision and style. She kept on throwing questions that will make you ponder to help shoot out your authenticity. Well, most of her photos are about children and weddings so if you have the same line of interest, then reading this one would truly give you much more knowledge.

2. Understanding Composition Field Guide by Bryan Peterson

This book is very insightful. It has a lot of revelations of what makes a photo amazing. According to this book, what makes a photo compelling enough is the way you settle the arrangement. In other words, it’s all about the composition. With a proper composition, your images can have a considerable impact and emotion. With the help of this book by the renowned Bryan Peterson, you’ll surely find your way to having the right composition.

3. Lighting for Digital Photography: From Great Snapshots to Great Shot by Syl Arena

Syl Arena did a marvelous job in explaining the importance of lighting in photography. He begins a primer about light – how to see its direction, intensity, color, contrast and hardness. He also portrayed some serious discussions of shooting both indoors and outdoors in many different condition of either natural or artificial lighting. With this book, you’ll surely master the art of light painting and rest assured you won’t be disappointed upon what you’ll learn.

4. Photo Inspiration: Secrets behind Stunning Images by 1x.com

The team for 1x.com shared their ideas and secrets to their stunning world-class photography in this book. They carefully handpicked 100 of the best photos taken by their photographers to provide an awe-inspiring background to the secrets of how the photographer came up with such an idea. With it, I’m pretty sure that you’ll be inspired to experiment along the different element of photography.

5. Creative Portrait Photography by Natalie Dybisz

Award-winning photographer Dybisz shared her own experiences, pieces of advice and techniques on how to create great portraits. She mentioned about how to build the trust between you and the subject, how to direct people and plan your shoots and how to effectively use post-editing tools to define every detail you wish to portray. Along with the extensive showcase of her masterpieces, you’ll surely be able to understand why she does it that way.

And that is the wrap. As always, learning something through books is still of much advantage than just plainly relying on information from different sources. Rest assured, most books speaks the truth and are genuinely honest given the peer reviews. So start reading now and you’ll be surprised as to how much there is in photography that you haven’t explored yet.